


Like that Sun

by KlavierRPF (KlavierWrites)



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Established Kim Wonpil/Park Jaehyung | Jae, Fluff, Humor, I am just incapable of not including them for some reason, Jae and Wonpil are a prankster duo, Jae's allergies are a minor plot point, M/M, Minor Kang Younghyun | Young K/Park Sungjin, Multi, Polyamory, You do not need to know anything about GOT7 to enjoy this, and they were roommates!, just because
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:01:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25432792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KlavierWrites/pseuds/KlavierRPF
Summary: “I just don’t understand,” says Jae, handing one ice cream cone to Wonpil and the other to Dowoon, “why people can’t take a friend on dates with them?”
Relationships: Kim Wonpil/Park Jaehyung | Jae, Kim Wonpil/Park Jaehyung | Jae/Yoon Dowoon, Kim Wonpil/Yoon Dowoon, Park Jaehyung | Jae/Yoon Dowoon
Comments: 32
Kudos: 108





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Nobody asked for this but here I am, writing it anyway! First time writing Dowoon POV and I'm having the time of my life. 
> 
> Splitting this in two parts because I reached a good point for a chapter break and I'm honestly just impatient to upload this. 
> 
> The second part might be a little slow to arrive because I'm also currently working on a jaepil social media au on twitter! If you're interested, the link is [here](https://twitter.com/eajpils/status/1284664782885392384).

“Wait,” says Younghyun, as Jae and Wonpil slide into the booth next to Dowoon, “something’s different.” It’s Friday evening, and they’re all meeting up for dinner at the same restaurant they’ve been coming like clockwork to since high school.

“How could you possibly know that?” says Jae immediately, still settling into his seat, “we’ve literally _just_ arrived.”

Dowoon, personally, has already figured out what’s different. He, Wonpil and Jae all share an apartment, and as such, they usually arrive together. The simple fact that he’d arrived alone, because Jae and Wonpil were out of the house when it was time to leave, is different. He doesn’t know _why_ they were out of the house though, so decides to let this play out.

Sungjin peers between the two of them. “Younghyun’s right, something’s different. You’re plotting something.”

Wonpil makes an offended noise. “We’re not teenagers anymore. When was the last time we actually pranked someone?”

Sungjin looks disbelievingly at the pair of them. Dowoon just knows he’s flashing back to two months ago, when he’d got that job as a model for a men’s vitamin supplement and Jae and Wonpil had stolen every copy of the ad they could find to plaster the wall of their apartment. The now-dubbed “Hall of Sungjin” is still up and Sungjin makes this amazing expression like he’s sucking his teeth every time he comes over for a movie night.

“Dowoon-ah,” says Younghyun, who jumps at being addressed, “have you checked your wardrobe recently?”

Dowoon nods. “Sleeves still on all my shirts.”

“For now,” mutters Wonpil darkly. Sungjin slaps the table, making the little menu card in the centre fall over.

“So you admit it, you _are_ plotting something!”

“Don’t be stupid,” says Jae, “if we cut off all Dowoon’s sleeves again we’d be doing the world a _favour_. It wouldn’t be a prank; it’d be a public service.”

“Is it weird that I believe they believe that?” asks Younghyun. Dowoon shrugs. He hadn’t actually minded that particular prank – he does have good arms, after all.

Sungjin doesn’t look convinced. “Well, something’s fishy. They look entirely too pleased with themselves.”

Dowoon twists in his seat to look at the two men beside him in the booth. Jae and Wonpil are sat so close their arms are touching, which is inevitable considering they always sit three people in a 2-person booth seat – his arm’s touching Jae’s too. They’re both smiling identical smiles, but that’s normal, right? They all look forward to these evenings.

“Did you two get some good news or something today, then?” asks Younghyun, gesturing between them with a paper straw.

Wonpil and Jae’s smiles grow. “Not exactly,” says Jae, at the same time as Wonpil says, “Yes.”

Jae immediately turns to Wonpil. “Pil-ah, you’re blowing our cover!”

“We said we’d tell them!”

“Yeah, but not straight away, we want them to work for it!”

Dowoon wonders what exactly Jae and Wonpil are so happy about, and why he doesn’t know about it. Normally, if they’re scheming, they let Dowoon in on it, even if he isn’t actively involved.

“Is this to do with where you went this afternoon?” asks Dowoon. All heads swivel towards him.

“They went somewhere this afternoon?” asks Sungjin.

“ _Without you?”_ adds Younghyun disbelievingly. That’s rude. Younghyun and Sungjin already hold the award for most co-dependant roommates, he doesn’t need to be acting high and mighty just because he, Jae and Wonpil prefer to do most (all) things as a three.

“Yep,” says Dowoon, “dunno where though.”

“If you must know,” says Jae, “we went to Ihwa Mural Village.” Dowoon notices that the back of Jae’s neck has gone a bit red.

“Why the hell did you go to a tourist trap?” asks Sungjin, “what kind of prank requires nice Instagram backdrops?”

“I keep saying, it’s not for a prank,” says Jae. “It’s – I can’t do this. Wonpil-ah, tell them.”

“It’s a nice date spot,” says Wonpil primly.

Dowoon cottons on immediately – so _that’s_ why he wasn’t invited. On the other side of the table, Sungjin and Younghyun seem to be having a little more difficulty.

“What’s that got to do with anything?” asks Younghyun.

“Because Jaehyungie-hyung and I went there together. As a date.”

Silence. Sungjin shakes his head. “If this is the prank, it’s kind of weak.”

“You’re _dating?”_ asks Younghyun disbelievingly. A server approaches the table, clearly having caught the tail end of the conversation and looking a little awkward. Dowoon makes eye contact with him and shakes his head a fraction, and the guy nods and moves away, looking relieved.

Jae crosses his arms. “Why do you sound so incredulous?”

Younghyun splutters and then – bizarrely – glances at Dowoon. “Because you’re Jae and Wonpil. You’re not – like that.”

“Gay? Pretty sure you already knew we were.”

“ _Interested in each other_ ,” says Younghyun.

“I can’t picture it,” says Sungjin. 

Wonpil pouts. “Why not? We’re awesome at being roommates, why wouldn’t we be awesome at dating?”

Younghyun scoffs. “It doesn’t work that way. If it did, Sungjin and I would be dating.”

“Well, why aren’t you?” asks Jae, raising an eyebrow.

“Because–” starts Younghyun, and then stops. He opens and closes his mouth like a fish for a moment, and Sungjin coughs noisily next to him. 

The server seems to spot their moment and swoops in to take orders. Dowoon, Jae and Wonpil go first to give Sungjin and Younghyun a moment to compose themselves. When the server leaves, Younghyun seems a lot calmer.

“Look, I’m sorry,” he says to Jae and Wonpil. “I think I’m just surprised because I genuinely didn’t suspect that you two, uh, felt that way. About each other, I mean.” He glances at Dowoon again, who wonders if there’s something on his face.

“I don’t know why you’re surprised,” says Jae, “I used to bitch about how much I liked him to you and Sungjin, didn’t I?”

“Wait, when did you do that?”

“You told me he was the bane of your existence and you wanted him out of your house,” says Sungjin flatly. “I don’t know how you expected us to know that was you saying you _liked_ him.”

“Aww,” says Wonpil, turning to Jae with practically visible heart eyes, “ _babe.”_

“I meant every word,” says Jae seriously. Wonpil leans over and kisses him on the lips.

“This is the worst thing to happen to our friendship group,” says Younghyun while Sungjin makes a noise of audible disgust.

Dowoon doesn’t see what the big deal is. He thinks it’s cute.

Word travels fast that Jae and Wonpil are sickeningly and disgustingly in love and for some reason, people keep asking Dowoon if he’s bothered by it.

“They must be difficult to live with, right?” asks Bambam, leaning across the bar. Jae and Wonpil went to find the toilets at the club Bambam and Jinyoung work at half an hour ago, and Dowoon’s pretty sure they’re having a quickie in the bathroom right now.

Dowoon shrugs. “I mean, I guess? Wonpil keeps forgetting to put the milk away and Jae always gets coffee grounds on the counter.”

“No, I mean like…” Bambam raises his eyebrows significantly and nods in the direction of the toilets.

“Oh,” says Dowoon, “no, that doesn’t really bother me.” He honestly finds their constant PDA kind of charming. It’s nice that they like each other. Even if it does make him feel a little left out, sometimes. 

“You’re so kind-hearted, hyung,” says Bambam admiringly, leaning closer towards him. A moment later, a hand on the back of his shirt yanks him backwards.

“You have other customers to serve,” says Jinyoung firmly.

“But–”

“Stop bothering Dowoon-ssi, I don’t pay you to canoodle with guests.”

“You don’t pay me at all, you’re assistant manager, not–” Bambam cuts himself off at the look on Jinyoung’s face. “Yes, hyung.”

“Sorry about him,” says Jinyoung, immediately taking Bambam’s place against the bar once the younger shuffles off to serve other customers. “He has a terrible puppy crush on you.”

“What?”

“He’ll get over it,” says Jinyoung, waving his hand. “He’s just crushing on you to avoid facing that he’s in love with Yugyeom.”

“Wait, isn’t that a secret? Won’t he be upset you told me?”

“Probably. Don’t worry about it. How are you handling things?” Jinyoung’s tone changes to something unexpectedly kind when he asks the question. Dowoon blinks at him.

“Uh… fine?”

Jinyoung sighs. “I’m sorry about my idiot best friend. If it helps, we were all betting on you two.”

“I think I’m missing something,” says Dowoon.

“You don’t have to play dumb, I’m not going to say anything to him. I just wanted to apologise on his behalf, because he led you on and that wasn’t cool.”

Dowoon is so lost. “Wonpil-hyung led me where, exactly?”

“Jesus, how strong did Bambam make your drink? I’m apologising for Wonpil because I know you like him and we all thought it was you he liked, not Jae-hyung.”

It is not easy to process this kind of information in a bar with loud music and flashing lights. Dowoon feels like he’s buffering.

“Dowoon-ssi? You ok there?”

Does he like Wonpil? Maybe. Wonpil is handsome. He teases Dowoon in a way he actually kind of likes; and is fiercely protective when he needs to be. He gets into bed with him and snuggles with him and puts his cold feet against Dowoon’s legs to make him shriek.

“Dowoon-ah?”

Dowoon makes a decision. “I do like Wonpil-hyung,” he says, “but it’s ok, I never thought he liked me back or expected anything.” It’s true.

“You sure? I love Wonpillie but I can verbally kick his ass if that’s what you need.”

“That’s ok, thank you hyung.”

Jinyoung reaches across the bar to ruffle his hair. “Our Dowoon-ah, always so polite.”

Dowoon wonders if he should feel jealous or sad that Wonpil is dating Jae. Because Jinyoung wasn’t wrong, Dowoon does get a warm feeling in his stomach when he’s with Wonpil that he’s now realising is _feelings._ Of the crush variety.

But it genuinely doesn’t bother him. Not even when he sees Wonpil and Jae being all lovey-dovey with each other, which is a lot. Because for some reason, they keep inviting him on their dates.

“I just don’t understand,” says Jae, handing an ice cream cone to Wonpil, “why people can’t take an extra friend on dates with them?”

They’re in a park, sitting on a picnic blanket in the shade, and Jae has just got back from buying ice creams. He hands the second one to Dowoon, who takes it a little confusedly. “Where’s yours?”

“Lactose intolerant, remember? Bought that for you.” Jae pulls a wrapped popsicle from the pocket of his jeans.

Dowoon takes a tentative lick. It’s his favourite flavour. Jae is a really good hyung.

“What was I saying?” says Jae, leaning back against a tree, “oh yeah. Dates. And why we invited you on ours.”

“Because you didn’t want me to feel left out?” guesses Dowoon.

“Nah, I think I could handle you feeling left out if it meant I’d get uninterrupted access to the Wonpil D,” says Jae, taking that moment to give his popsicle a strangely suggestive lick.

“You wouldn’t get uninterrupted access in a public park, anyway,” Wonpil points out.

“We could improvise,” says Jae, shrugging. “If my brief two-week addiction to the Sims 4 taught me anything, it’s that world is full of woohoo spots.”

Jae looks at the pair of them expectantly, his eyebrows raised. Dowoon starts laughing – Jae always looks like an excited kitten when you laugh at his jokes. Sometimes, Dowoon will laugh at things that aren’t funny just to see it, and he’s willing to bet Wonpil does the same thing.

“Jae-hyung’s point, Dowoonie,” says Wonpil, apparently choosing to take over the conversation himself before Jae can side-track them further, “is that we genuinely like your company. We would hate for the two of us dating to mean we don’t get to hang out with you as much.”

“Oh,” says Dowoon, suddenly feeling kind of shy, “I like hanging out with you two, too.”

Jae and Wonpil’s smiles seem disproportionally big for such a simple admittance. “Really?” says Jae, “that’s good.”

Dowoon's been having one of those days that just kind of sucks. He was looking forward to his drums lesson all day only to get an email that his teacher was sick and that the class had been cancelled. His college classes are kicking his ass, too. He hates being the last one of his group of friends to graduate: his two roommates have real jobs while he’s still working part-time in a convivence store to help pay for his tuition.

Jae's in the kitchen when he gets in from college, eating peanut butter out the jar with a spoon. "Hey," he says, as Dowoon dumps his bag on the counter and opens the fridge to get a drink. "Aren't you meant to be at drum practice?"

"Cancelled," says Dowoon thickly, closing the fridge again with his shoulder. “Aren’t you allergic to peanuts?”

Jae licks the spoon. “Hope not. And that sucks, dude. You ok? You seem smad."

"Not mad, just the other one," says Dowoon, "bad day."

With that, he leaves, taking his drink and going to his bedroom. he sits down heavily on the bed. He feels stupid. He hates feeling stupid. It's not just the work stuff, he also thinks the whole Wonpil thing might be getting to him a bit. Maybe Jinyoung was on to something, maybe it shouldn’t be this easy to see the guy he has a crush on dating someone else.

There's a knock at his door. "Yeah?"

Jae pokes his head inside. "I wasn't done trying to make you feel better," he says. "Want company?"

"I don’t know.”

The door opens fully and Dowoon sees Wonpil standing right behind Jae. "Hyung said you were sad," says Wonpil with an exaggerated pout.

"Just been a shit day," says Dowoon, feeling a little embarrassed to have them fussing over him. "But you can come in if you want."

Jae and Wonpil practically fall over each other as they come into the room. They're a good fit for each other, Dowoon thinks. They match each other's energy really well.

A moment later, Dowoon has one on either side of him on the bed. Jae's just sitting close, but Wonpil grabs his hand.

Nobody says anything for moment. He just has the texture of Jae's slightly threadbare hoodie against his bare arm on one side and Wonpil's warm palm on the other. It's nice.

"Wanna hear a funny story?" asks Wonpil, with a little look to Jae.

"Sure," says Dowoon.

"We went into Younghyun-hyung’s office to bother him at work today," says Wonpil. "We told the receptionist we were a young couple looking to rent a flat and we wanted to speak to Younghyunnie-hyung specifically, because he'd been recommended to us as the best estate agent for the job.“

Dowoon laughs lowly. "How mad was he?"

"He was trying not to laugh," says Jae. "We went through the whole shebang, he played along. think he might have just wanted a break from real work, to be honest."

Dowoon sniffs. "I'm glad you had fun."

Wonpil shifts, leaning against Dowoon's shoulder. He threads his fingers through Dowoon's and squeezes. "Would have been more fun if you were there."

"How would you have pretended to be a young couple if I was there, though?"

"We'd have come up with something different," says Wonpil. "It just would have been more fun with you.”

“It’s usually more fun with you,” Jae agrees.

"Right," says Younghyun, the next time Dowoon meets up with him one-on-one, "we need to talk about Jae and Wonpil."

Dowoon is taken aback by Younghyun's serious tone. They were just meeting up for coffee because Younghyun got off work the same time as Dowoon was walking back from school – he didn't realise this was some kind of intervention.

"I didn't know they were going to bother you at work, hyung," says Dowoon, "Sorry. I would have stopped them if you wanted me to."

Younghyun blinks at him. "Wait, you seriously think you have the power to stop them pulling a prank like that?"

Dowoon nods. He's done it before countless times. He's the entire reason Sungjin still has hair.

"That’s– huh. Interesting. But not what I wanted to talk to you about."

He's wearing a concerned expression eerily similar to the one Jinyoung had worn, and Dowoon thinks he knows what this is about. "Are you worried about my wellbeing?" asks Dowoon.

"I wouldn't phrase it like that, but yeah," he says. "I know you're acting like you're fine with the whole thing, but this set up has got to be hurting you, right? Living with the guy you like while he dates someone else – particularly when that someone else is your other roommate."

Dowoon thinks about it. "It's not like they leave me out of anything, though."

Younghyun looks surprised. Dowoon wonders if he thought he was going to fight the assumption that he has feelings for Wonpil. "Doesn't that just make it more awkward, then? because you're constantly around them as a couple?"

Jae and Wonpil work well as a couple, though. "Not really. They’re both really kind to me.”

Younghyun takes a bite of his pastry, chewing thoughtfully. "If you're sure," he says.

"Yeah, I'm sure. But thank you for worrying about me."

Younghyun swallows and shakes his head. "No, thank you for being so honest with me. I honestly thought you were going to completely deny your feelings for Jaehyungie-hyung if I pressed you on it."

"My feelings for Jae-hyung?" repeats Dowoon.

"Yeah," says Younghyun. "I know we've never really talked about it, but Sungjin and I have known you for years, Dowoon. Of course we picked up on how much you idolise him. I don't know exactly when that turned into romantic feelings, but I have a pretty good idea."

"Right," says Dowoon vaguely. Should he argue back and say Younghyun's got it wrong? Probably. but it's not an easy thing to confront someone about. Younghyun will probably be really embarrassed to have made that kind of mistake and anyway, it’s not like his concern doesn’t still apply. He’s just got the wrong person in the couple. “How did you know I liked Jae-hyung?”

Younghyun’s smile is understanding. “Worried he’ll figure it out, huh?”

“Er– yeah.” Let’s go with that.

“Well, there’s a lot of little things,” says Younghyun, “but one of the most obvious things is how you look at him. It’s cute, honestly. You can tell he means the world to you. And you do that thing where you laugh at his jokes even when they’re clearly not funny. That’s like… crush behaviour 101.”

Dowoon is sweating a little. Both of those things are true. "Er... anything else?"

“Surely you don’t want me to list them – your ears are red enough as it is.” 

Dowoon tries to look determined. "I need to know everything I do that shows I like Jae-hyung, so I can learn not to do it and give myself away."

Younghyun looks unconvinced. "I mean, if you're sure."

Dowoon nods.

“Ok," he says. "Well, there's the way you always gravitate to him - you sit next to him whenever we go out as a group. You're the only one of us who pays attentions to his allergies, and you panic if you think he's eaten something he's allergic to. You let him and Wonpil prank you and don't even get mad."

"Most of their pranks are funny."

"Still, it’s a giveaway. But honestly, Dowoon-ah, I wouldn’t worry about Jae catching on. He'd be more likely to figure out that something was up if the way you interacted with him suddenly changed. All that stuff is just your dynamic, at this point. He clearly hasn't noticed."

"Right," says Dowoon, mind racing, "it's still useful to know."

Younghyun takes a long sip of his drink. "Are you really sure you're ok, Dowoon-ah? You look worried."

Dowoon tries to smooth out his expression. "I'm ok."

"You can talk to me about it. You know that, right? Me or Sungjin. We'll listen."

Dowoon spots the opportunity and takes it. "About that," he says. "You and Sungjin... is there really not something there, hyung?"

Younghyun covers his ears. "Nope!" he says loudly, "not discussing this with you."

Dowoon laughs.

Jae's in the kitchen again when he gets in. He's sitting on the counter this time, staring at the jar of Nutella that Dowoon bought a few days ago. "You're home late," he says, "I was just thinking about you."

Dowoon's heart picks up involuntarily. "Yeah?" he says - squeaks, more like.

"Yeah," says Jae, still not looking at him. "Why does this jar have a sticky label on it that says, 'Jae-hyung don't eat this'? That just makes me want to eat it more."

"You're allergic to hazelnuts," says Dowoon.

"Am I?"

"Yes."

"Huh," says Jae, putting the jar down. "You’re lucky I respect your boundaries, or I’d be in the emergency room right now."

"You're welcome to my food any time, hyung," says Dowoon. "But I can’t drive, so make sure you’re not allergic, first.”

Jae shoots finger guns at him. "Noted. Have you seen Wonpil?"

Dowoon shakes his head.

"Huh. Thought he'd be home by now. Wanna hang out?"

Dowoon thinks about it. It might be a good opportunity to explore if there’s anything to Younghyun’s theory about his supposed crush on Jae. "Ok," he says, "let me get changed."

"I’ll be here," says Jae.

Dowoon stands in the middle of his bedroom for a moment, heart thudding. Curse Kang Younghyun for putting these thoughts in his head. He doesn't like Jae. He hardly even likes Wonpil. if he liked either of them, he wouldn't be so completely ok with them dating each other. He's overthinking this.

"Dowoon," says Jae from the other side of the door, making him jump, "can we watch Tiger King?"

"The way that man treats his animals makes me sad, hyung," says Dowoon, loud enough to be heard in the hallway.

He can almost hear the pout in Jae's voice. "Tiny House Nation?" he suggests hopefully.

Jae and his awful American reality shows. "Ok," says Dowoon. Jae cheers.

When he comes into the living room, Jae's already got Netflix open. "I love jaewoon time," he says happily, as Dowoon sits down next to him.

"Not as much as you love jaepil time," says Dowoon.

"Nah, I think they’re pretty equal. You two are tied for first place on my list of favourite people."

Dowoon smiles. Jae and Wonpil are his favourite people, too.

Dowoon doesn't pay a lot of attention to Tiny House Nation - he's too busy running through every interaction he's ever had with Jae to figure out if he has a crush on him or not.

His distraction must show on his face, because all of a sudden Jae pauses the show and turns to him. “You alright, man? You’re quieter than normal.”

It hits him like a ton of bricks right then and there. The way he’s willing to sit through Jae’s awful tv shows just to spend time with him. The way he’s absolutely enthralled by the way that Jae’s looking at him: head on one side, eyebrows tilted up, tiny pout on his lips. It’s so endearing. _Jae_ is so endearing.

He likes them both. That makes things complicated.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a little longer than planned, but I finished it in the end. Also, I finished that twitter au I mentioned! Not got a lot to say here, tbh. Enjoy!

Dowoon wakes to the feeling of his sheets being forcibly pulled off his body. Disorientated, he tries to snatch them back.

“Come on, wake up!” says Jae’s voice. Oh, Jae is the blanket thief. That figures. “I tried knocking on your door, but you didn’t answer. You sleep like the dead, Dowoon-ah.”

Dowoon opens his eyes, blinking rapidly to clear his vision. Jae’s standing directly over his bed, Dowoon’s sheets balled up in his arms. “What…?”

“It’s time to get up.”

“I don’t have class until the afternoon,” says Dowoon, propping himself up on his elbow and gazing blearily at Jae.

“We’re having a nice family breakfast,” says Jae firmly, “which you need to be awake for.”

“Can we have a nice family breakfast in ten more minutes?” Dowoon hadn’t got a lot of sleep. He was still reeling off his realisation that he liked not one but both of his roommates, and trying to get his brain to calm down had been a struggle.

“No,” says Jae, dropping the covers and grabbing Dowoon’s hand to pull him into a sitting position. “Now, up you get!”

Dowoon lets himself be dragged into the kitchen, Jae marching ahead of him with one hand firmly grasped around his lower arm. Jae looks freshy-showered, but he's still in casual clothes. His hair is sticking up at the back because he hasn't brushed it, and it's still damp. Dowoon tries hard not to think about the little beads of water that run down his neck.

Jae’s job is at the local record store; he's normally at work by this time and gets home fairly early. Dowoon hadn't known he had the day off.

Wonpil's in the kitchen, his back to them, when Jae forces him down into a seat at the tiny counter they eat all their meals at. There are fresh flowers in what looks like an empty soda bottle and everything is suspiciously clean. "What's going on?" asks Dowoon. Wonpil is cooking something on the hob, and the whole kitchen smells sweet and delicious.

"Family breakfast," says Jae again, which explains nothing. He crosses the room to get something out of one of the high cupboards. Their kitchen isn’t exactly big, and it's a tight squeeze having all three of them in there at once. This apparently isn’t an issue for Jae and Wonpil, who have no problem touching and brushing against each other as they work.

"Morning, Wonpil-hyung," says Dowoon. He’d been so busy watching the casual way that Jae put his hands on Wonpil's hips as he scooched past him that he hadn’t actually greeted him yet.

Wonpil turns to look at him. "Morning, Dowoon-ah." His smile is so big it makes his eyes crinkle. "Do you want bacon with your pancakes? Jae-hyung says it's a classic in America but I think it sounds like a sin."

"It _is_ a classic," says Jae, who has retrieved what Dowoon now sees is syrup from the cupboard, which he now places on the countertop. “Ask Brian, he’s lived in Canada, it’s a thing there, too.”

"I'll try it," says Dowoon. "Why are we having pancakes?"

"We will answer that question in just a second," says Wonpil, flipping a large, fluffy, American-style pancake onto a plate and loading up his pan with more batter. "Jae-hyung, I've put the bacon under the grill. There wasn't space to do it on the stove."

Jae makes a grumbling noise and shoots Dowoon a disappointed look. "It’s almost like you want me to be healthy," he says mournfully.

"Of course I do, you're my boyfriend," says Wonpil, "that's why we had to substitute half the ingredients in these things, remember?"

"Milk is not half the ingredients," says Jae.

“Butter, too,” Wonpil reminds him.

"Can I help?" asks Dowoon, feeling a bit useless sitting at the table while the two of them move around the kitchen, setting up.

"No," say both of them together.

"This is your treat, Dowoonie," says Wonpil kindly, swatting Jae's hand away from the pan. "I can do it, hyung!"

"It's going to stick."

"No it's not, stop fussing. Go make the coffee."

Dowoon thinks they probably _should_ have woken him up a little later – it takes another ten or so minutes for the pancakes to be cooked and plated and coffee poured. Only then do Jae and Wonpil join him at the counter.

Neither of them eat anything at first. They just stare at Dowoon, who is deciding whether putting syrup on the same plate as bacon will be as nice as Jae assures them it will be.

He decides to go for it and helps himself to a mouthful of pancake, bacon and syrup all in one.

“Well?” asks Jae eagerly.

Dowoon takes a moment to swallow. “It’s good,” he says, “what’s the occasion?”

Now he’s started, Jae and Wonpil both start helping themselves to food. “The occasion is you, Dowoonie,” says Wonpil.

“Huh?”

“We noticed you’ve been a little bit down recently,” says Jae, “and that your college classes have been hard, so we thought we’d do something nice.”

Wonpil nods. “If you start the day with pancakes, even a terrible day of school is a bit better.”

They’re both smiling at him so earnestly, with so much fondness in their gazes. Dowoon feels tears spring into his eyes.

“Woonie?” says Wonpil, “are you crying?”

“No,” says Dowoon, but his voice cracks. Immediately, there’s an arm around his shoulder and he’s being pulled into Jae’s side.

“You seem kinda overwhelmed,” says Jae, “I’m sorry. Is this too much?” 

“It’s amazing,” sniffs Dowoon, “You guys are too good to me.”

“Impossible,” says Wonpil immediately.

Dowoon takes a moment to wipe his slightly leaking eyes and smiles at the other two men. "You're a good couple," he says.

For some reason, this makes Wonpil frown. "This isn't about us being a couple, Dowoonie, this is about us loving you a lot and wanting you to be happy."

"But we are an awesome couple," says Jae, "that is also true."

Wonpil reaches across Dowoon to slap Jae on the arm.

"You’ve got class in a few hours, right?" asks Jae.

Dowoon nods.

“I rearranged my shift so it starts at the same time, I can walk with you if you’d like?”

Dowoon regrets going out almost as soon as he arrives. They’re clubbing again, only Jae and Sungjin both bailed last minute. So it's just him, Wonpil, Younghyun and Younghyun’s friend Youngjae.

At first, they'd stayed together at one of the tables around the edge of the dance floor, but pretty quickly Wonpil had disappeared chat to Jinyoung, and Younghyun and Youngjae started dancing. Dowoon is not a good dancer. This usually isn’t a problem, because Jae and Sungjin can’t dance either. However, Younghyun and Youngjae are both actually good, and Dowoon feels silly.

Eventually, he gets sick of sitting alone in at the table and wonders to the bar to see if Bambam's serving.

"He's just clocking out," says Jinyoung. He’s clearly meant to be serving customers, but appears to mainly be talking to Wonpil, who’s joined him behind the bar.

"Oh," says Dowoon. "Has he left yet?"

"No, why?"

Wonpil is looking at Dowoon with a curious expression on his face.

"I was hoping I could talk to him." Last time Dowoon saw Bambam, the other had said he wanted to be closer friends and left him his phone number. Dowoon knows Jinyoung says he's got a crush, and he doesn't want to fuel it, but Bambam is cool and it might be nice to get to know him better.

"I'll go get him," says Jinyoung, disappearing into the back room.

Wonpil stares at him.

"What?"

"Why do you want to talk to Bambam?"

"You guys are busy.”

"He has a crush on you," Wonpil blurts.

Dowoon feels his ears heat up. "I know," he says.

Wonpil seems tense. Dowoon hopes that he didn't interrupt a difficult conversation with Jinyoung or something.

A moment later, Bambam all but crashes through the staff only door. "Hyungnim!" he says excitedly, "I'm done with my shift, but I'm free to hang out! I know a 24-hour diner nearby."

Dowoon blinks, taken aback by the enthusiasm. "Uh, sure. Hyung," he says, turning to Wonpil, "you won't be upset if I leave, will you?"

Wonpil looks like he tasted something sour. "No. I'll tell Younghyun-hyung, shall I?"

“If you wouldn’t mind.”

Bambam looks between the two of them with raised eyebrows. "We could talk here?" he suggests.

"No," says Dowoon, with a final puzzled glance at Wonpil, "let’s go somewhere quieter.”

Bambam chooses to launch himself over the top of the bar rather than use the gate, which makes Jinyoung swear at him. "Follow me,” he says.

"So, then I told Jinyoung-hyung," says Bambam, dipping a fry into his milkshake, "that it doesn’t actually matter if I like him or not, because we’ve been friends since we were toddlers and I’m not fucking that up for a crush.”

Dowoon hums in agreement. “I get that. I’m in a similar situation.”

Bambam cocks an eyebrow. “Ready to talk about it now, huh?”

“Er– yeah,” Dowoon thinks of the previous times he’s talked about his crushes, “wait, who is it you think I like?”

“Both of them, right? Wonpil-ssi _and_ Jaehyung-ssi.”

Dowoon blinks at him. “You’re the first person to get that. _I_ didn’t even realise until recently.”

Bambam shrugs. “Everyone else’s minds are too narrow. Me, I’m already in that world. Jinyoung-hyung thinks I get crushes on other people because I’m not ready to face how I feel for Yugyeom, but I’m just poly as hell.”

“Poly?”

“Polyamorous. Happy to date multiple people, with the consent of all parties.”

Dowoon thinks he’s heard of that before. “I… might be that. Polyamorous.”

“Cool,” says Bambam, eating another milkshake-dipped fry and looking completely unconcerned. “Wanna date me?”

“Oh,” says Dowoon, taken aback. “Er – no thank you? Sorry.”

“Damn, didn’t think so,” he doesn’t sound too cut-up about it. “Had to shoot my shot, though. Can I have the rest of your chicken nuggets?”

Dowoon feels strangely touched when Wonpil sneaks into his bed a few nights later. It hasn’t happened since he and Jae had started dating, and Dowoon was a little afraid it would be off the table, now Wonpil is taken.

Dowoon’s not asleep, just lying on his side under the blankets, watching YouTube drum covers on his phone. He’d been planning on sleeping though, so the only light in the room is his bedside lamp. He’s got earphones in and misses the sound of the door creaking open; he doesn’t realise that Wonpil’s entered until the mattress dips.

“Hey, hyung,” he says, pulling out his earphones, “here for cuddles?”

Wonpil nods, lifting up the sheets and joining him. Dowoon doesn’t even flinch as Wonpil’s cold feet find his thighs. “Missed you,” mumbles Wonpil.

Dowoon is only now noticing just how intimate he and Wonpil’s cuddle sessions are. They’ve always been such a natural part of their dynamic, but he feels guilty. Has he been taking advantage of Wonpil’s tactile nature with his crush?

Wonpil grabs Dowoon’s arm and pulls it over him. “I’m doing all the work, here.”

Dowoon pushes the worry aside for later and pulls Wonpil into him. “Sorry,” he says, “I was distracted.”

“What were you watching?”

“Drum covers,” says Dowoon, “I was thinking I should start my own channel.”

“You should, you’re good at them. Jaehyungie-hyung’s good at YouTube stuff, he’d help you.”

Dowoon makes a noise of vague agreement. He’s not exactly married to the idea yet. Quiet settles over them, but that’s not surprising. Sometimes Wonpil invades his bed to talk, other times he just wants the attention.

“How did your trip to that diner with Bambam-ssi go?” asks Wonpil quietly. Wonpils’ finger is absently tracing the logo on Dowoon’s shirt. It tickles.

“It was pretty fun,” says Dowoon honestly, “he’s a weird guy, but I think that’s a good thing. He asked me out.”

Wonpil stiffens, the movement of his finger stopping. “What?”

“Yeah, I was surprised, too,” says Dowoon. He doesn’t really know anyone quite like Bambam – he’d honestly been completely fine with the rejection, carrying on like nothing had happened.

Wonpil’s voice is strangely high, “I didn’t know you liked him.”

“Oh, I don’t. I turned him down.”

Dowoon feels Wonpil relax against him. He and Bambam must not get along well.

Wonpil’s breath is hot on Dowoon’s face. Normally when they cuddle it’s more of a spooning situation; this feels even more illicit. Wonpil is a taken man, he reminds himself. He shouldn’t be within kissing distance of him.

“Do you like someone, Dowoon-ah?” whispers Wonpil. Under the blankets his feet shift, moving a tiny bit higher up Dowoon’s leg. It’s probably nothing. Dowoon shuffles back a little on the bed anyway.

“Er–” Wonpil is the hardest to lie to. Especially when they’re lying this close to one another. “Kind of.”

“Who?”

Dowoon swallows. “I don’t want to tell you.”

“Aw,” says Wonpil, pouting, “you can tell hyung, Dowoonie. We tell each other everything, don’t we?”

“I don’t think you want to know.” Wonpil is somehow just as close as he was before. His foot inches back up. Dowoon is a little short of breath – have Wonpil’s eyelashes always been that long?

“Is it me?” asks Wonpil, and his tone is undeniably flirtatious, “you can tell me if it’s me. I won’t be mad.”

Is this a trap? It feels like a trap. Dowoon knows he has to be bright red right now. His traitorous complexion has probably answered Wonpil’s question for him.

“I–” starts Dowoon, his voice cracking. He wants this so badly. But then again, Dowoon is not a homewrecker. Jae isn’t some random person Wonpil’s dating, he’s Dowoon’s friend. One of his favourite people. “I think you need to get out of my bed, hyung.”

Wonpil’s entire demeanour changes. He looks _mortified_. “Oh my god, Dowoon-ah,” he says, his voice immediately back to normal. He pulls his feet away and shrugs off Dowoon’s arm, “I’m so sorry. I misread this.”

He practically falls out of the bed in his hurry to back off, and when he stands up his eyes are wide and fearful. “Can we just – forget this ever happened? I swear, I didn’t mean anything by it, I’m just in a weird mood.”

Flustered, Dowoon nods, and Wonpil’s out of his room before he even has a chance to speak. Then it’s just Dowoon alone in his poorly lit bedroom: confused, embarrassed and a tiny bit turned on.

Is Dowoon morally obligated to tell Jae that his boyfriend hit on him? Because he really, really doesn’t want to. Wonpil had told him to forget it ever happened, but that’s hard to do when Wonpil’s acting completely differently around him.

He doesn’t touch him. At all. He’s perfectly friendly, but he’s not affectionate like he had been. He’s treating Dowoon like he’s a member of their extended friendship group, not his roommate and high school best friend.

Jae’s tactility only make’s Wonpil’s sudden lack of it all the more obvious. Jae continues to ruffle his hair as he passes, or poke at the dimples he insists Dowoon has. They have a roommates’ movie night and Wonpil, in the middle, spends most the evening practically in Jae’s lap. And ok, they’re dating, but usually Wonpil’s makes a point of demanding cuddles from both sides or lays his head on Dowoon’s shoulder when he gets sleepy. Now it’s like he’s afraid to get too close.

After about a week has passed, Dowoon’s miserable. He couldn’t even enjoy their Friday night restaurant outing because Wonpil took one look at the 2-person booth seat they’d been sharing as a three for years and suggested they might need something bigger.

He starts feeling like he screwed up somehow, which is crazy. Handling things differently would have meant letting Wonpil cheat on his boyfriend, which can’t have been the right thing to do. As it is, Jae and Wonpil are completely happy with each other, so either Jae doesn’t know, or he doesn’t care.

Dowoon’s in the kitchen, drying and putting away the washing up. He’d been listening to music, but his phone has run out of battery and he’s too lazy to get his charger from the bedroom, so his Bluetooth headphones are looped around his neck. He can hear Jae and Wonpil in Jae’s room next door, bickering loudly. He thinks they’re planning some kind of elaborate prank on Jinyoung, but he doesn’t know the details because they’ve elected not to tell him. They normally tell him. Dowoon is trying and failing not to feel left-out.

He thinks they’re probably happy. Their special brand of happiness which is characterised by being absolutely terrible to one another. They’re always softer with Dowoon – they tease him, but not like they tease each other. They’d never shout at him the way he can hear them shouting now.

Dowoon swallows a lump in his throat. He’s being stupid. If he thinks about it logically, it’s a good thing that Wonpil’s been pulling away from him recently. They’re a couple, and he’s their perpetual third wheel, and they need space.

The shouting portion of whatever ridiculous argument Jae and Wonpil are having is going on a lot longer than normal. Usually, they’ve dissolved into laughter by now, or Wonpil has hit Jae with whatever he’s holding, and they’ve started faux roughhousing. Dowoon tries to fit another novelty mug onto the overly full shelf they keep them on.

“Oh my God,” he hears Jae say, and the playful quality of his voice has faded, “are you serious?”

Wonpil shushes him.

“You didn’t _tell_ him?”

“Well not exactly, but –”

Oh. They’re arguing. Not play arguing, actual arguing. Dowoon shouldn’t be listening to this. He puts another mug away as noisily as possible and pulls his headphones over his ears, but he can still make out Jae’s voice.

“You made it sound like he’d turned us both down,” says Jae, voice only slightly muffled. Dowoon doesn’t hear Wonpil’s reply, he’s evidently trying harder than Jae not to be overheard. If Dowoon leaves and goes to his bedroom, will they hear him walk past and realise he’s been in the kitchen the whole time?

“Bullshit, Pillie. That’s not the same thing.”

Dowoon’s just going to keep putting mugs away and pretend he’s not listening. They really need to get rid of some of these. Half of them have rude sayings on them from when Jae and Wonpil had bulk-ordered them as joke gifts, and at least 30% are chipped.

“Well do you love him or not?” asks Jae loudly. Dowoon is so startled drops a mug. It breaks on the tiled floor and he hisses in shock. Dowoon hears the two of them go silent. Fuck. He wants to get out of there, but he’s barefoot and there’s broken ceramic on the floor. What had Jae just asked? Did he mishear?

He hears the door to Jae’s room open. “Dowoonie? You ok?”

“I dropped a mug,” he calls back, “I’m fine.” He definitely said ‘love _him’,_ not ‘love _me_ ’ right?

Jae appears in the entrance to the kitchen a moment later, Wonpil not far behind him. “You shouldn’t have bare feet in here,” says Jae immediately, “you didn’t get hurt, did you?”

“No. Can one of you pass me the dustpan and brush?” Wonpil takes it from the hook by the door and hands it to him. Dowoon crouches to sweep up the shards. The tense atmosphere from next door has been carried into the kitchen. He knows that his ears and the back of his neck are probably red. What had Jae meant by ‘love him’? Who does Wonpil love other that Jae? Dowoon doesn’t even want to hope that it’s him. 

“I’ll get you some house slippers,” says Jae, disappearing and leaving him alone with Wonpil. It’s tense. Things are never tense between them, and he hates it.

“Did you hear us a minute ago?” asks Wonpil as Dowoon tiptoes past him to put the broken shards in the trash can. He doesn’t sound angry, just a little nervous.

“No,” lies Dowoon, gesturing to the headphones around his neck.

Jae returns at that moment with house slippers, which he drops at Dowoon’s feet and he gingerly steps into. “Sorry,” says Dowoon. He’s not sure what he’s apologising for.

Jae looks between the two of them and sighs. “Pillie,” he says, “no offence, but your way was a fucking disaster. We’re going to try my way now.”

Wonpil’s eyes widen, “Not right this second?”

“Yep,” says Jae, standing up straight in a way Dowoon thinks is probably meant to look authoritative, “Living room, now. Both of you. We’re talking about this.”

Dowoon’s mind is running a mile a minute as he follows Jae. Was the argument he overheard part of really about him? Does Jae know about what happened? Had Jae already known?

Jae directs Dowoon and Wonpil to sit down on the sofa and pulls the armchair over to sit across from them. “Right,” he says, “open and honest communication. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” says Dowoon. After a moment, Wonpil echoes him.

“Ok,” says Jae, sitting back in his chair and steepling his fingers together like a psychiatrist, “Dowoon-ah, how did you feel about my boyfriend’s extremely unsubtle come-on?”

Beside him, Wonpil chokes. Dowoon feels his face flush. It was him they were arguing about, then. “I don’t know what you want me to say…” he mumbles.

“It doesn’t matter what I want you to say,” says Jae, “I’m not going to be mad, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

That’s good, but it’s not just himself he’s worried about. Dowoon shuffles his slippered feet on the carpet. “Are you mad at Wonpil-hyung?”

“I’m always mad at Wonpil,” says Jae easily. “But I’m not mad he tried to seduce you; I’m mad he did such a bad job at it.”

Dowoon feels like his mind does a double take. What does that mean? He hopes Jae was serious about the whole honest communication thing. “He didn’t… uh.” Yep, Dowoon is definitely blushing now. He stares at his feet. “He didn’t do a _bad_ job, necessarily.”

“I didn’t?” asks Wonpil. He sounds happy.

From the corner of his eye, Dowoon sees Jae sit up excitedly. “He didn’t?”

“Er, no?”

“So, you like Wonpil-ah?” Jae presses.

“Surely it doesn’t matter?” asks Dowoon, finally looking back up. “I wasn’t going to let him cheat on you, hyung!”

There’s a pause and then Wonpil says, “uh… it wouldn’t have been cheating? Technically?”

“I’m confused.”

Jae runs a hand through his hair. “Sorry. That’s our fault. The thing that Wonpil forgot to actually explain when he was suddenly overcome by thirst–” Wonpil whines in embarrassment “– is that he was supposed to be figuring out if you might be down for dating us. Like, as a trio.”

“You want to _date_ me?” Dowoon practically squeaks.

“Well, yeah,” says Jae. Wonpil nods in agreement.

 _“Both_ of you? You too, Jae-hyung?”

“Is that… surprising?” asks Jae.

“ _Yes!_ Very surprising! Extremely surprising!” There’s no way this is really happening. Dowoon hadn’t even let himself _hope_.

“Look, Dowoonie,” says Wonpil, putting a hand on his knee. It’s the first physical contact they’ve had in over a week. “There’s no pressure. We know it’s weird. We just both agree things are better with you there and we like you a lot.”

“It’s ok if you don’t feel the same,” says Jae, “but we’re kind of a package deal so if you only like Wonpil…”

“ _Ilikeyouboth!_ ” blurts Dowoon. And then, a little slower, “I like you both. It’s really embarrassing how much.”

Dowoon covers his face with his hands. A moment later, he feels someone pry his palms away. Jae has gotten off his chair to crouch in front of him. He’s making direct eye contact and his face is so close, Dowoon thinks his brain might stop functioning soon.

“Hey, no need to be embarrassed,” says Jae softly, running his thumbs over Dowoon’s hands, still clasped in his own. “You’re good, Dowoonie. You’re always good.”

Wonpil, still sitting next to him on the sofa, throws his arms around Dowoon and presses into his side. “We’re the ones who should be embarrassed,” he says. “It only took us like two weeks of dating to realise we’d screwed up and something was missing. We should have asked you from the start.”

“I might not have been ready then,” Dowoon admits. “Seeing you as a couple really helped me realise how I felt.” And their friend’s concerned reactions, but he can tell those stories later.

Jae lets go of Dowoon’s hands and he’s momentarily disappointed before Jae scrambles onto the sofa and starts hugging him tight from the other side. “So, are you going to be in a couple with us, Dowoonie?”

“Trio?” suggests Wonpil, “throuple?”

“I don’t care what it’s called,” says Jae, “I just wanna know if you’re in.”

Resisting the urge to giggle, because Jae’s making it sound like some kind of illicit backstreet deal, Dowoon nods. “I’m in.”

“Whatever weird thing you two have planned,” says Sungjin, joining them at their usual table, “It can wait. I’m not in the mood.”

Jae and Wonpil, who have elected this Friday evening to sit either side of Dowoon in the booth, both put on identical “who, me?” expressions.

“We don’t have anything weird planned,” lies Jae, “and I’m insulted you’d think so.”

“You just confirmed it,” says Sungjin, shrugging off his jacket and settling into his seat. “And Dowoon-ah’s got no poker face so I know you dragged him into it, too.”

Under the table, Jae hooks his foot around Dowoon’s leg. Wonpil’s already holding his hand. Dowoon might not have a poker face, but it’s not their prank he’s trying to remain blasé about.

“Where’s Younghyunie-hyung?” asks Wonpil, wisely steering the conversation away. They can save their prank/relationship reveal for another time if need be. It’ll be no fun without both of them.

“He’ll be here soon,” says Sungjin. He sounds a little flat. “We had a slight falling out in the car, so he’s just calming down first.”

“Hence you not being in the mood,” says Dowoon, filling in the gaps. 

“You know, if you dated, you wouldn’t argue so much,” says Jae. Wonpil leans around Dowoon to smack him with his unoccupied hand. It’s a familiar action by now. “I’m just saying!”

Sungjin sighs. He looks defeated. “How did you two make a relationship work? With all the history.”

“Er–” starts Jae, then stalls.

“Um…” says Wonpil, with a wide-eyed look at Dowoon.

“Are you and Younghyunie-hyung dating?” asks Dowoon. He’s only been part of this relationship for less than a week and they’re already making him do the dirty work. Typical. 

“He asked me out when we were driving here,” Sungjin all-but-whispers.

Dowoon, Jae and Wonpil exchange panicked glances. Dowoon doesn’t think any of them expected Younghyun to be so bold. “And you said…?” prompts Jae.

Sungjin rubs a hand over his face. “I told him I’d think about it. I didn’t think I should say yes right away because we do have a history, and we live together on top of it. There’s so many factors to discuss. He uh… didn’t like that.”

“Well, there’s your first screwup. You do like him, right?”

“Right,” says Sungjin. From the look on his face, he even surprises himself with the speed of his response.

“Did you make that clear to him?”

Dowoon can almost see Sungjin rewinding the conversation in his mind. His eyes widen. “I don’t think I did.”

“Then you should go and tell him. Open and honest communication,” says Jae, his hand sneaking under the table to squeeze Dowoon’s thigh.

“Yeah,” says Sungjin. He stands up again. “Yeah, I’m gunna go tell him. Thanks guys.”

Sungjin leaves.

“He left his jacket,” says Wonpil.

“Do we think he’s coming back?” asks Dowoon.

“Probably not.”

Jae gets up from the table and slides into the other side of the booth, pushing Sungjin’s jacket aside. “I say we make this our first official three-way date,” he says. “Wonpil, come sit on this side with me.”

“Why?” asks Wonpil immediately, snuggling closer to Dowoon. “it’s a date, not an interrogation.”

“But Dowoonie’s the newcomer. We have to woo him.”

“I can woo him just fine from this side of the booth.”

“But–” Jae goes a little pink. “Then I’ll get jealous you get to be next to him and I don’t.”

It’s clear from his tone that Jae doesn’t mean the dangerous, relationship-ruining type of jealously. He means it more like a fear of missing out, a desire to be close. The thought of being wanted like that sends a little electric fizzle up Dowoon’s spine.

“Tough,” says Wonpil, unsympathetic. “You moved, and we really can’t have three people on one side of the booth without someone on the other. It looks silly.”

Jae immediately opens his mouth to argue back, but Dowoon’s not paying attention. He’s just so _happy_. Wonpil and Jae are doing that thing where they argue to show affection, but rather than arguing with Dowoon, which he doesn’t think he’d like, they’re arguing about him. He kind of likes it. Being wanted, even when it’s in a playful way like this.

“Dowoon, are you even listening?” asks Wonpil, nudging him with his shoulder.

“Huh?”

“He was having a moment,” says Jae. “His expression got soft. He was probably thinking about how sad it is I’m all neglected on the other side of the booth.”

Dowoon laughs, loud and hearty, because Jae has this ridiculous pout on his face and he just really, really loves him. Right now, it’s as a friend, with all the fluttery feelings of a crush on top. But he thinks – knows – it’ll grow.

Wonpil snakes his arms around Dowoon in a full-on side hug. “This ok?” he checks, nuzzling his face into Dowoon’s neck.

“Yeah,” says Dowoon. “It’s – nice.”

Jae makes an over-the-top jealous noise from across the booth.

“You did this to yourself, hyung,” says Wonpil smugly. Dowoon thinks he maybe-more-than-a-friend loves Wonpil, too.

The long-suffering waiter comes for drinks orders, and then they’re just… on a date. The three of them. It’s not even weird, because they’ve been on so many dates as the three of them already.

When their drinks arrive, Jae suddenly gets very excited at the prospect of sharing a milkshake. “We could get a really large one and three straws,” he says, “and share it like we’re on a date in the 50s.”

“Yes,” says Dowoon dryly, “three men, on a date. In the 50s.”

“Can’t hear you, nostalgia goggles are on,” says Jae. “Do you think they do smoothies here? Should I ask?”

“If they do, can we get strawberry?” asks Wonpil hopefully.

Dowoon shakes his head. “Not strawberry. They make hyung’s mouth itch, remember?” Then, struck by a thought, Dowoon says, “hang on, is there anything I shouldn’t be eating?”

“What?”

“Like, is there anything you’re so allergic to that you could get a reaction if I ate it and then we…” Dowoon trails off, embarrassed.

“If you kissed?” fills in Wonpil. “Only shellfish, I think. Right, Jaehyungie-hyung?”

Jae is staring at Dowoon across the table, eyes wide, a pretty flush decorating his cheeks again.

“What?” asks Dowoon, embarrassed. Had he been to forward to ask?

“Nothing,” says Jae, sounding a little out of breath. “I just– really love that you thought of that. And uh… want to kiss you. A lot.”

“I haven’t eaten any shellfish recently,” says Dowoon.

Tentatively, Jae leans forward across the table, half getting out of his seat to do so. Dowoon mirrors him. “This ok?” checks Jae, putting a hand on Dowoon’s cheek in a gesture so gentle he wants to melt all over the tacky faux wood of the restaurant table. 

“Yeah,” he says.

It’s awkward, because the table is a little too wide to be doing this, and poor Wonpil has to reach out and grab Dowoon’s drink before he almost knocks it over. But it’s incredible, too. Jae has soft lips and treats him like he’s made of glass. Dowoon is smitten. 

A started yelp interrupts them. They break apart, and Jae actually does knock over his drink as he throws himself back into the booth seat. “Oh, shit,” he says, glancing around for something to mop up the spilled soda.

Sungjin and Younghyun have returned. Based on the pitch, it was Younghyun who yelped. Sungjin is making a strange spluttering noise.

“Uh, guys,” says Younghyun, his voice unnaturally high and full of forced calm, “what’s going on?”

Jae is attempting to mop up the soda with napkins, so the explanation falls to Dowoon and Wonpil. Or rather, it falls to Wonpil, because Dowoon has been stunned into silence.

“We didn’t think you two were coming back,” says Wonpil. “So we turned it into a date night.”

“But Dowoon…” Sungjin glances between them. “Wait. By ‘we’, do you mean all three of you?”

“Yeah,” says Wonpil. “All three of us.”

Jae finally gives up on the spilled drink and lets it drip sadly onto the seat and floor. “We had a whole relationship reveal prank we won’t get to use now.”

“How awful for you,” says Sungjin dryly. Younghyun still looks a little shell-shocked.

“Oh!” says Jae, scrambling out of the booth. “You two want to sit down, right? You’re still eating with us?”

The side of the booth he’s vacated is noticeably sticky.

“We’re actually just here to get Sungjin-hyung’s jacket,” says Younghyun, “we had a… uh. Change of plans?” Now the shock is wearing off, Dowoon sees that under it Younghyun looks really, really happy. They figured things out, then.

Jae grabs Sungjin’s jacket and hands it to him. “Good man,” he says.

“Is this weird?” asks Dowoon suddenly, hating the awkward atmosphere. “Do you two have a problem with this?”

Younghyun’s expression goes soft in that way it often does when he’s talking to Dowoon about something that’s worrying him. “No, Dowoon-ah. I’m just a little surprised.”

“Honestly, now I think about it, it makes more sense than any combination of you three dating separately,” says Sungjin. “Maybe Dowoon-ah can stop you two from causing chaos.”

“I stapled all your project files together last time I went to visit you at work, and I’ve been waiting for you to notice,” says Jae immediately.

Sungjin doesn’t miss a beat. “Or not. Either way, I’m happy for you.”

Younghyun tugs on his arm. “You promised me a decent first date to make up for that mess of a confession,” he says. And then, to the rest of them, “have fun on your date, guys! Reconvene next Friday?”

They nod, and say their goodbyes, and Jae abandons the sticky side of the booth in favour of squishing in next to Dowoon and Wonpil again.

“That went well,” says Dowoon nervously, “right?”

“Yes,” Jae’s tone is firm.

“And this is ok as a first date?”

“Well, it could be better in one way,” says Wonpil, and Dowoon’s pulse skyrockets until he sees the teasing look on Wonpil’s face. “I haven’t got a kiss, yet.”

Wonpil tastes like sunlight. Or maybe he tastes like cheap cola and spit, and Dowoon’s just too happy to care. He kisses Jae again after that. And then Jae and Wonpil kiss each other. And then they start up a kind of wrestling match about who gets to kiss Dowoon next that leads to Jae falling out of the overcrowded booth with a thud and all three of them being asked to leave the restaurant before they’ve even gotten around to ordering food.

It’s not a problem. They go to the 24-hour diner that Bambam recommended and share a smoothie with three straws.


End file.
